Lu Corfield: Doctor in the house

Lu Corfield was a head girl and straight-A student who was expected to go to Oxbridge.

Lu Corfield was a head girl and straight-A student who was expected to go to Oxbridge. But, as she tells Rachel Mainwaring, the new Doctors regular caught the acting bug and things didn’t quite go according to plan

Actress Lu Corfield would be the first person to admit her career plan went a bit pear-shaped.

At 17, she was an able English literature student at high school in Welshpool, hoping to study at Oxford or Cambridge.

But then she ‘succumbed’ to drama and the minute she started acting, she knew there was nothing else she wanted to do.

She joined the Montgomery Youth Theatre, where she met her acting mentor Ginny Graham, and admits she was bitten very hard by the acting bug.

Lu, 31, who plays newcomer Freya in BBC One daytime drama Doctors, says: “I was quite good academically at school, especially in English and history, and I was going down that route. I was a straight A-student and was making plans to study at Oxbridge. And then it all went pear-shaped.

“I started acting and found I didn’t want to stop. That was when I was 17. I met so many wonderful people when I started at the Montgomery Youth Theatre, people I’m still friendly with now, and I just knew then that my career path had completely changed. I knew that university was no longer an option.”

And it seems Lu, short for Lucy, certainly made the right decision when it came to her career choice.

After being accepted into Rada (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) aged 21, she treaded the boards and enjoyed small roles in shows like EastEnders, Holby City, and Casualty.

But this year has been a breakthrough year for Lu, who lives with her childhood sweetheart Sion Owen in London, whom she met at school.

At the start of the year, she starred as Big Pam in Candy Cabs before landing the role in Birmingham-based medical soap Doctors, as new trainee GP Freya.

Candy Cabs told the story of an unlikely duo who embarked on a business adventure, starting a company run by women, for women.

It featured a cast lead by EastEnders actress Jo Joyner, who trained at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff as well as Paul Nicholls, Denis Lawson, Jodie Prenger and Melanie Hill.

Despite it not being re-commissioned for a second series, Lu says it was a fantastic show to be involved in.

“It was the warmest environment and had a real family feel. Big Pam even got to have a little love interest with Chubbs from the rival firm and it seemed to be really popular.

“And then to get the part in Doctors was just brilliant and it sounds so cliched to say this but it really is like being in one big, happy family.

“There are only a handful of regular characters. I think there are about 11 of us, and it’s good to get to know the people you are working with very well, which you can do with a smaller cast.

“It’s not just the cast, it’s the crew, and I can honestly say I’ve never felt more welcome on my first day on set.

“Everyone is just so enthusiastic and I’m really, really proud to be a part of it. I’ve been there for three months now and it’s been absolutely mad.

“There is an awful lot of filming involved and I’ve just had a week off and I can honestly assure you that I did absolutely nothing. It was bliss.”

And Lu, who plays confident career-hungry Freya in the award-winning drama series, said she loves playing a larger-than-life feisty character.

“She is a feminist and wants to save the world and everything in it but she’s not a sharp-suited high-heeled type of girl, like her colleague Zara. Freya is more a T-shirt and baggy trousers type.

“Freya loves to help a damsel in distress but, ultimately, that’s going to get her into trouble.”

Lu is now honing her writing skills and hoping to merge them with comedy as she’s working on a sketch show with comedian Russell Howard’s little sister Kerry.

She said: “We met at a comedy showcase two years ago and Kerry and I are always scribbling away when we are out and if I think something is a good idea, I’ll just scribble it down. I’ve always got a notebook and pen on me, just in case. We’re hoping we can do something with BBC so, fingers crossed.”

But in the meantime, Lu is more than happy to be “massively busy” filming in Birmingham.

But, don’t expect her to be a happy viewer when it comes to watching her own scenes on TV.

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